The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister, Radimir Čačić, has said that the government will accept an offer from Aeroports de Paris to run Zagreb Airport and build the long awaited new terminal. The French group, which bid under the name Zagreb Airport International, will build the new terminal from scratch and pay 87 million Euros in concession fees over the next thirty years. The new terminal should be in use by 2015.

Speaking to the press, Čačić said the new terminal will help boost tourism and will also provide a chance for Croatia to become a regional hub in the Balkans. “Construction work will start by the end of the year”, Čačić added. The offer by Aeroports de Paris outlines that during the first phase of the project a new terminal will be built with the capacity to handle five million passengers. The price tag of the project will amount to approximately 190 million Euros, although the exact expenses will be finalised within 180 days after the bid is officially accepted by the government. A further 29 million Euros will be invested after passenger traffic through the airport exceeds five million travellers.

The French offer was the only one received after a controversial year-long tender in 2011. Plans to build a new terminal at Zagreb Airport have been floating around for more than a decade. In 2011, Zagreb Airport handled 2.319.098 passengers, an increase of almost 12% on 2010.

B&H continues flight cancellations

B&H Airlines has today cancelled all of its scheduled departures from Sarajevo. They include two flights to Istanbul and its service to Zurich via Banja Luka. B&H will operate one single flight as its A319, which left Sarajevo for Istanbul on Thursday morning, will return on Friday evening. On Wednesday the government approved a cash injection to cover the carrier’s operational costs.